Gangwon Province Invests 115.5 Billion Won in Forest Disaster Prevention...All-Out Preemptive Response

Record-High Investment of 16.5 Billion Won to Curb the Spread of Pine Wilt Disease
Strengthened Prevention System Focused on Landslide-Prone Areas to Protect Lives and Property
Operation of Special Countermeasure Period for Large-Scale Forest Fires and Reinforced Joint Crackdowns

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) announced on the 26th that it will invest a total of 115.5 billion won this year and make an all-out effort to prevent forest disasters in order to protect the lives and property of residents from three major forest disasters: pine wilt disease, landslides, and forest fires.

Exterior view of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office. Provided by Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Office.

With climate change increasing the spread of forest pests and diseases, localized heavy rainfall, and the risk of large-scale forest fires, the province plans to block forest disasters in advance and strengthen its response capabilities to minimize damage.

First, for pine wilt disease, the province will implement control projects such as removal of infected trees, preventive trunk injections, and conversion to other tree species by investing a record-high total of 16.5 billion won.

In severely damaged areas, it will block further spread by establishing defensive lines and converting to other tree species, while in less affected areas, it plans to restore clean zones at an early stage through comprehensive monitoring and swift control measures.

In addition, to enhance the effectiveness of control efforts, the province will establish a control governance system, ease regulations to expand the use of timber from controlled trees as resources, and strengthen support for forest owners.

Furthermore, to protect residents' precious lives and property from natural disasters such as localized heavy rainfall and typhoons and to prevent forest degradation, the province will invest a total of 39.3 billion won and expand the installation of erosion control facilities, focusing on areas vulnerable to landslides.

The province will expand preventive facilities such as erosion control dams (60 sites), stream conservation works (28 km), and forest watershed management (10 sites), and reinforce the functions of existing erosion control facilities through inspections and safety measures.

Using the Forest Disaster Response Team (1,214 members), the province will inspect vulnerable areas, and for residents living in landslide-prone areas (3,901 households, 5,227 people), it will provide advance guidance on evacuation sites (823 locations) and conduct frequent inspections so that residents can evacuate immediately when a landslide warning is issued due to localized heavy rainfall, with a focus on preventing casualties.

To prevent forest fires, the province will invest 59.7 billion won in project costs and designate the period from March 14 to April 19 (tentative), when the risk of forest fires is highest, as a "Special Countermeasure Period for Large-Scale Forest Fires," raising the level of response.

The province will conduct joint operations at the countermeasure headquarters together with relevant agencies such as military units and the Korea National Park Service, and will place more than 15,000 monitoring personnel, including forest fire watchers and the Forest Disaster Response Team, as well as aerial and ground firefighting resources such as forest fire helicopters, on standby in advance to strengthen initial response capabilities.

In addition, the province will operate joint enforcement teams with the forest, environment, and agriculture departments to eliminate the causes of forest fires in advance by eradicating illegal burning and expanding the collection and shredding of agricultural by-products.

During the spring and autumn forest fire seasons, the province will operate 27 forest fire helicopters (8 leased, 8 from the Korea Forest Service, 3 from the fire authorities, and 8 from military units), and will adhere to the principle of deploying them to the scene within 30 minutes of a fire outbreak to block early spread. In particular, in the Yeongdong region, where there is a high risk of large-scale forest fires due to strong winds, the province plans to forward-deploy super-heavy helicopters in consultation with the Korea Forest Service.

Yoon Seunggi, Director General of the Forest and Environment Bureau of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, said, "In a situation where the risk of forest disasters is increasing due to climate change, a prevention-centered response is more important than anything else," adding, "We will do our utmost to protect the lives and property of our residents through proactive response and thorough on-site management."